| Steady Cost? | Variable Cost? | Payment Frequency | Category | Item | Amount/ Payment | Rationale | Amount/ year |
| √ | — | Monthly | Housing | Rent | $595 | Zillow's Listing | $7140 |
| — | — | — | Property Tax | $0 | Renting means no taxes. | $0 | |
| √ | — | Monthly | Home Maintenance | $116 | The difference between the Zestimate® and the actual rent. | $1392 | |
| — | √ | Weekly | Food | Groceries | $81 | USDA stats, mid-cost, adjusted | $4212 |
| — | √ | Monthly | Utilities | Gas | $100 | This site (average). | $1200 |
| — | √ | Monthly | Electricity | $79.38 | Average for Austin. | $953 | |
| — | √ | Monthly | Water | $44.42 | Water Calculator (3100 gallons/month). | $533 | |
| — | √ | Monthly | Waste Management | $25 | This site (average). | $300 | |
| √ | — | Monthly | Telephone | $85 | AT&T 1GB and unlimited text. | $1020 | |
| √ | — | Monthly | Internet | $34.95 | AT&T "Elite" plan. | $420 | |
| — | √ | Yearly | Transpor-tation | $300 | Bikes are not expensive. | $300 | |
| — | √ | Yearly | $150 | A good U lock and one or more cables. | $150 | ||
| — | √ | 4 Months | $85 | 2 tires plus a little extra. | $255 | ||
| √ | — | Monthly | Public Transit | $35 | Monthly Pass. | $420 | |
| √ | — | Monthly | Health | Medical Insurance | $252 | Healthpocket Prediction | $3024 |
| √ | — | Monthly | Dental Insurance | $28.82 | Healthpocket Prediction | $346 | |
| — | — | — | Fitness | $0 | Bike provides this. | $0 | |
| √ | — | Monthly | Vision | $19.58 | Healthpocket Prediction. | $235 | |
| √ | — | Monthly | Education | Loan Repayment | $280 | This site. | $3360 |
| — | √ | Monthly | Protection | Clothes | $100 | Basic shirt, pants, and other things. | $1200 |
| — | √ | 3 Months | Shoes | $100 | I glanced at the price tag. | $400 | |
| — | √ | Yearly | Leisure/Luxury | Computer | $1000 | Cheap iMac or hardware/apps. | $1000 |
| — | √ | Monthly | Multi-purpose | $200 | For any desired event. | $2400 | TOTAL: $30,260 |
According to Naviance, 75% of people living in Texas made at least $54,910 as a Computer Programmer. That income will be taxed $8,034 according to this calculator (assuming no deductibles), so my actual income will be $46, 876. The sample apartment I chose was located in San Antonio, Texas, in a semi-walkable area. My total expenses, as predicted by a variety of sources in the table above, is $30,260. I want to save a lot of money for emergencies and other things, possibly $11,616 per year. Meanwhile, I could save $5,000 a year for retirement, which, assuming I am 30 at the time, would grant me $175,000 by the time I am 65 years old.
Researching my income and expenses makes me wonder how someone earning minimum wage could survive well. I also wonder the validity of my estimations. I tried to make them pessimistic, as prices are usually higher than expected, however I am still not sure. Thinking in terms of my family's worries about budgets compared to my surplus, my estimates seem low. But when thinking in terms of people who are rich enough to buy their own RVs and minimum wage earners, my estimates seem high. I just hope that I can live without a car while still not paying too much for a big city apartment.
Hi Joseph, this was a very organized and well-thought out approach to your budget. I think you are making some good assumptions and I think have a strong hold on what your financial future could look like. I think saving $5k/year for retirement would be really great, and using a good 401k or interest earning option you will have much more than $175k when you are 65. I think you will also have a much higher salary as time moves forward with computer programming (you'll get promotions and other increases in pay). I am also glad this prompted you to think about bigger picture questions, like the viability of having a minimum-wage job with all the common expenses. I hope you enjoyed this activity.
ReplyDeleteHi Joseph- This is Sita, the School-to-Career Liaison for Novato and San Marin High Schools. I would like to commend you for the effort you put into this post and your though process around it. Honestly, I wish I had done some research like this when I was your age... I may not have taken out so many student loans and had a better understanding of where my money was going. ;) Good job!
ReplyDeleteWow! This is really detailed! I commend you. You put in so much effort which shows me you have a terrific work ethic and will try hard with whatever you do. Your going places! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI like how you did something different with your organization. It shows good creativity! You seem very well prepared for creating a real budget in the future.
ReplyDeleteThis is great, so vital. Want to echo Danielle, getting students to buy in NOW to saving, hopefully 10%, even at entry level wages... Compound Interest so powerful if they can embrace this, life will be so much better in their ~50s~ and sooner they recognize and get on board, the better!
ReplyDeleteJoseph, this chart is so cool! I admire that you want to do something unique with your life like own an RV and live in Texas, unlike what most of the other people wrote on their blogs. Good luck with pursuing your dreams, and know that your organizational and creativity skills that you showed in making this chart will aid you in the future!
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